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My boyfriend and I are looking to move out to Denver in the next year to year and a half. I'm starting to research on what part of town we should live. I've been reading the various threads of similar questions, but I wasn't able to find exactly what I was looking for.

I know downtown is expensive, but I can't figure out how far away from downtown the other neighborhoods are. We would like to buy, but can probably only afford $250,000 at the most. We don't need a 4 bedroom, but would like at least a 2 bedroom.

We're mainly interested in living somewhere that is close to shops/dining. We are in our early 30s and aren't in to the main bar scene, but enjoy "neighborhood bars", arts, shops and dining preferably in a safe walking distance.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated (especially b/c these posts are most likely a dime a dozen )

You can get a 2br condo downtown starting for 250k. The Golden Triangle neighborhood is about the same price-wise, it's just south of downtown. Capitol Hill and Uptown are much cheaper -- these are to the east and southeast of downtown respectively, but still within walking distance. There, you can probably get a small 2br starting at about 160-170k.

If you like "neighborhood" bars rather than being right at the epicenter of nightlife (i.e., lodo), then I honestly think Denver's city center neighborhoods are a better choice. They are largely cheaper, and more neighborhood-like. I mentioned some of the locations from which you could easily walk to downtown, but there are also some good choices further afield, like Cheesman Park, Congress Park, Highlands, Wash Park, etc.

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping we could get a house rather than a condo, but we may need to live farther out from the city. We've got a year so I'm just now starting the exploring! thanks again for the post.

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping we could get a house rather than a condo, but we may need to live farther out from the city. We've got a year so I'm just now starting the exploring! thanks again for the post.

There are houses in the city in the neighborhoods tfox mentioned, also the DU area. When DH and I were in our early 30s, we moved to Louisville. Even though it is a more family style area, it worked for us. It has the neighborhood bars, etc, though "fine dining" is a stretch. For that, you would need the city, especially if you want to walk.

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping we could get a house rather than a condo, but we may need to live farther out from the city. We've got a year so I'm just now starting the exploring! thanks again for the post.

Fla Nole,

You can't live in a house downtown, because there aren't any houses downtown: most of the buildings are high-rise or at least mid-rise in downtown Denver.

However, the city-center neighborhoods are relatively close, so you could certainly find some houses around downtown (Uptown, Cap Hill, Lincoln Park, Highlands, Curtis Park). However, $250k for a house within walking distance of downtown Denver is going to be hard; not that one doesn't exist. There are of course small cottages in the neighborhoods around downtown that might go in the 200s. Places that need a lot of work could also be priced in that range. For a house over about 1500 sf in good condition, however, expect to pay at least in the mid-300s anywhere remotely close to downtown, and of course you could easily pay in the millions.

As you would expect, if you want to live in the suburbs, it's a totally different ballgame out there. For starters, the prices are MUCH cheaper than the city. Many of the older suburbs could get you a very large, updated home within your price range, particularly with all of the problems out there with subprime mortgages and distressed sales these days.

In the decent areas of Denver, I still see lots of demand for houses even in a down market, with rapid appreciation in some areas. Nice houses in good condition near downtown, as you'd expect, sell very, very quickly.

I would check out 80206 (Congress Park), 80212 (Highlands), 80220 (Mayfair). Although you won't have a tremendous inventory of homes to choose from in the 250k price range, you can still find 3 bed, 2 bath homes for sale. These neighborhoods all have really nice shops, restaurants, groceries, etc. that you can walk to and are full of thirty-somethings. You have a nice mix of apartments/condos/single family homes. Since you are starting the search early enough, you have plenty of time to get information on neighborhoods. You can set up searches of the MLS to help you see available homes each week. This will help you know the market prices and what you can expect in your price range. You can also look for some bank-owned properties that might be less money but may need a little work. It all depends on what you're looking for. I would figure out how far you want to be from work (which usually is an important factor) and then decide how far you are willing to drive or commute. You can use Microsoft Trips or other software to map a driving time radius around that address (mileage varies on which artery you are traveling). You could then research neighborhoods that fall within that radius and start setting up searches in the MLS to pull available properties. You could receive those properties each week (or whatever frequency you choose) and that will help you in your research. Let me know if you need any help. Take care. Denver is a GREAT place to be!

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